"I am Unnamed. My title is dead."
In the World, the Planet, and the Base, it's either be number one or die.
The alternative to dying, however, is to become an Unnamed. Turning eighteen means that you will compete for your name. Come out on top, you...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Runner watches as the sunrise drifts upward in the sky. He's sitting on a stool by the window Harmony had been standing near. It's placed between two of the treadmills along the left side of the building, the machine silent with sleep.
"What's happening?" He mumbles to himself. Curious thoughts wrestle in his brain and he can't seem to rid of them. He had fallen asleep with them and woke up to their voices prying at his consciousness; he even had a dream that the girl with red hair was standing before him.
There's a set of footsteps making their way up to the large room the Runner occupies. He gets a burst of energy and bolts out the front door and into the rain, not wanting to see anyone until he sorts out his thoughts and reasons with his questions. The walkways and roads collect water, slowly but steadily rising higher as he jogs along. The Runner doesn't think he can face anyone without examining every little unnecessary thing and talking when he isn't supposed to. There's so much crowding his brain to do so.
The Runner is soaked to the bone by the time he circles all the way around the World, the city he calls home. When he comes close to the Runner's Building, he sees the Runners step outside to observe the weather, squinting at the sky as if they can't believe their eyes at the falling rain. They've definitely seen it before; it's just still raining, is all, that's the part deemed preposterous—the sky can't hold that much water in its clouds.
"Where'd you go?" one of the bigger guys snorts, giving the Runner a shove as he trudges inside, water dripping everywhere and making the floor slick. He keeps his mouth shut as he walks across the room to the television screen, his eyes adjusting to the sharp bright glow it gives off, waiting for the Competitions to begin. He plops down in a chair and glues his eyes to the screen, isolating himself from everyone else until it starts. Soon, he'll have to run for his Name, and he'd like to pick up any and all things that could get him ahead in the race. He ponders over this until the television flickers, keeping his curiosities at bay for the time being. But he knows they'd come flooding back the moment the distraction dissipates.
The Competition's introduction music blares from the television's side speakers and everyone hastily takes a seat or finds a place to stand. Today would be the last of the Competitions: the Elite Rounds, and the Runner wanted to pay attention to all the details, just in case.
The present Elite Runner is only a few years older than the Runner. In fact, he even remembers him, although be it faintly. The young Elite never talked to the Runner, but then again the Runner never really talked to anyone, either. He recalls Blaise the Elite Runner as someone who was hard-working and talented. He earned the spot fair and square.
One of the Titled, a Leader, lower than the Elite but higher than the Runner himself, appears on the screen to list the channels for each Category, and it takes a moment for one of the boys in the group sharing the squat Runner's Building to reach the Runners channel.
Their emblem, the same one they wear on their jackets, appears as the music blares over the speakers again.
"Hello again, and welcome to the final round of the Competitions." The red-headed Leader smiles against the blue background, her teeth perfectly straight and gleaming as she places a stack of papers onto the flat black surface in front of her. "I am Tali the Leader. The last of the Runners, Rachel, Thomas, Herold, Michael, and Gerold, will be going up against Blaise the Elite Runner. He is one of the two in the Runners category to beat the Elite before him. He has been in office for two years now, and he has been preparing for this moment all year. Let's take a look at the competition.
